A re-evaluation of deer alerts

[yechave]

I've been driving since 1974, having had only one major collision with a deer in all those years, a 12 pt no less, which was found dead the next day. Myself and nearly everyone I know, has put the deer alerts on our vehicles for as long as I can remember, and I always felt safer knowing they were on, until now.

How I missed the first large deer a few weeks ago on my very first ride on an LT, is beyond me. Then, I had another large buck run in front of the bike this past week, and the LT now had the deer alerts installed. In both instances it was mid day.

I had another deer run right in front of my van with the alerts installed the day before this, which continued to run along side for a hundred yards or so.

My SO hit a deer two days before that, fortunately only damaging the hood, that car had alerts on it. Another friend hit a deer about a month ago with his Neon, causing significant damage to the hood, right fender and passenger door.

A neighbor, and another car visiting friends here, and others I know of, have had encounters now with deer this year, the cost in damages to all cars now are in the thousands of dollars.

Deer carcasses are all over the roads.

IMO, I do not see that the deer alerts are preventing the deer from running in front of, or into, the vehicles.

NE PA

[wsteinborn]

Do you mean deer whistles, or something else?

[yechave]

These are the $7-$10 variety at most Marts and auto parts stores. I did not know anyone personally that had hit a deer, that had these, until this year. The number of deer hit or almost hit by just a few of us that do have them, is alarming. I only drive about 5k miles a year, and to have had three very close calls myself in only two weeks, is more than enough to have serious concerns when riding the LT.

[andy]

These are the $7-$10 variety at most Marts and auto parts stores. I did not know anyone personally that had hit a deer, that had these, until this year. The number of deer hit or almost hit by just a few of us that do have them, is alarming. I only drive about 5k miles a year, and to have had three very close calls myself in only two weeks, is more than enough to have serious concerns when riding the LT.

I have not done the research myself BUT knowing these devices in all reality are 'flutes' they DO have a speed envelope in which they have a chance of being useful (if they are at all) Above this certain speed (don't know what speed that is) those 'flutes' are simply overblown and seize to emit tones. You can try this with any flute. Too little air(too slow), no tone, too much air(too fast) no tone. Now to make things worse, once those devices age, get dirty, ... their 'efficiency' or their ability to emit high frequency tones deteriorates even further.

Bottom line: IMHO they are not worth the effort, as it seems that the typical traveling speed of 60mph to 80mph is well beyond their capabilities.

[surfran]

My father was truck driver his whole life and worked the last 15 or so years of his career for a large trucking firm that installed these on all there trucks one year. According to him they ended up with more deer hits that year so they removed them. Their thought was that it spooked the deer causing them to move more and many times in front of the trucks.

Not sure if it's true or not, but I have never used them and the only deer encounter I have had was in town where I stopped the car and the deer ran into the fender causing no damage. The rest of my 20+ years driving I have had no contact. Have seen many very close to the road that stayed there while moving by.

[ATFLT]

They have to be clean so if a bug hits one it does nothing. If you are not going the right speed they do nothing. If they work properly deer will hear them and maybe jump. That could be in the way or out of the way. All in all they could work but probably don't do anything much. Certainly not enough to rely on.

[Lynn_Keen]

I have not done the research myself BUT knowing these devices in all reality are 'flutes' they DO have a speed envelope in which they have a chance of being useful (if they are at all) Above this certain speed (don't know what speed that is) those 'flutes' are simply overblown and seize to emit tones. You can try this with any flute. Too little air(too slow), no tone, too much air(too fast) no tone. Now to make things worse, once those devices age, get dirty, ... their 'efficiency' or their ability to emit high frequency tones deteriorates even further.

Bottom line: IMHO they are not worth the effort, as it seems that the typical traveling speed of 60mph to 80mph is well beyond their capabilities.
In addition to what Andy has suggested, it has been my observation that, especially on motorcycles, folks tend to mount these devices where they are aesthetically pleasing. Not necessarily where they will be in a full flow air stream. In many cases they are mounted on a motorcycle fairing where, as a result of the aerodynamic design, there may be very little air flow.

[grifscoots]

Deer don't like Stevie Ray Vaughn. If you're expecting to ride into deer turf, just blast some SRV. It works.

When rounding a corner or topping a hill, flash your lights, it makes the deer look and you can see their evil, red eyes.

[Lonewuff]

When I first moved into the N. Houston area I discovered we had about 18 horned rats living on our property and the 1.5 mile road up to my house was a constant deer path. I saw some electronic deer devices advertised, but I wasn't sure if they were worth the $$$, so I called the State Fish & Game department. They quoted from a report that their own agency had done a couple of years prior that "None of the devices worked, period." They tried all of them on their own vehicles and headed for the woods. Some of the Wardens actually hit deer and up until that no Warden in the area had ever been in a deer related accident. They concluded that the devices caused the deer to get anxious, which in turn meant they would jump and run, but not necessarily away from the vehicle. Their best suggestion was if you see deer standing along the road flash your high beams and slow down. This doesn't help for those kamikaze deer that dart out from the tree line, but for some reason does keep the ones you see from running towards you...most times (their disclaimer).

[usmctpdog]

A few years ago I think I was "Friction Zone" magazine did a huge story on
All manner of Deer Whistles were tested by reputable sources.

ALL DEER Whistles, whether electric or wind driven are a waste of money.................period.

Lately my S/O and myself were wondering if ANY noise, like Loud Exhuast attract or startle the deer into a bike's path?


PS> If you ride a low horsepower motorcycle with loud exhausts, does it feel faster?